Winning blow: queen to e1 (d1)
c9-18942naming tag (square·N)Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Chess960 twist: use the unusual starting setup of the pieces.
Winning tactic: there is a move that gains a decisive advantage — find it.
Difficulty 1290 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
White to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
In Chess960 the pieces start on unfamiliar squares, so tactics appear earlier and from unusual angles. Do not trust classical patterns — read the actual lines of the bishops, the rooks and the queen from where they really stand in this position.
This position hides a concrete tactic that wins material or mates. Start with the most forcing candidate moves — checks, captures and threats — and calculate each to a clear end before choosing; the winning line is usually the one the opponent cannot meet.
General method: before you move, list the forcing candidates — every check, every capture, every direct threat — and calculate those first. The solution to a tactic is almost always among them.
Position on the board
White: king g1, queen d1, rook c1, bishop g2, knight f2 f6, pawn h2 b3 g3 a4 c4 f4.
Black: king b8, queen a6, rook e1 a8, knight c2, pawn a5 f5 b6 g6 h6 c7.
12 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 30.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (29 against 28; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g1, the black king on b8.
It is White to move on move 30, with 2 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle. White are in check right now, so every reply must answer the check.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
The White king has 0 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
30. Qxe1 Nxe1 31. Rxe1 Ka7 32. Bxa8
Why it works
- Great move! queen to e1 keeps the pressure (+4.7).
- Spot on — rook to e1 (+4.8).
- Precise: bishop to a8 is the top choice (+5.0).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Nxe1, then Rxe1 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 30. Qxe1 — queen to e1 (capture)
- Nxe1 — knight to e1 (capture)
- 31. Rxe1 — rook to e1 (capture)
- Ka7 — king to a7
- 32. Bxa8 — bishop to a8 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Winning exchange
A forced series of captures on one square ends in your favour.
A winning exchange is a forced series of captures on one square that leaves you ahead in material. It is pure arithmetic: count the attackers and defenders of the square and note the value of every piece in the queue. Capture in the right order — cheap pieces first, expensive ones later — or a winning trade turns into a losing one. The classic error is stopping the count halfway and missing the opponent's final recapture.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #714.
SP-714 · RampartGuard — King on the wing (b/g) with both knights on inner files.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on c1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 437.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 51 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +26 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #714Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-714
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